“I no longer feel at home in the Conservative party either politically or intellectually,” she said, describing them as “fear-mongers” and “bullies”.

And that feeling supposedly isn’t all that new.

“The fact of the matter is, I haven’t felt at home in the Conservative party now for many, many years. I think many Progressive Conservatives have had that realization over the last few years,” she said.

The Conservative Party of Canada was quick to dismiss the move as opportunism. CPC president John Walsh noted in a media release that Adams had been informed on January 29 that she wouldn’t be permitted to run for the party in the next federal election owing to misconduct from the Oakville North-Burlington nomination race.

“I communicated clearly that our Party takes our nomination rules and procedures seriously, and we made a commitment to run fair and open nominations, and any misconduct from candidates, including caucus members, would not be tolerated,” he said.

Conservative MP Eve Adams and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau held a press conference in Ottawa on Monday, February 9, 2015, where she announced her decision to join the Liberal Party of Canada. iPolitics/Matthew Usherwood

But Adams pointed to the large number of Conservative incumbents opting not to run in the next federal election as proof she’s not alone in feeling the party has lost its way.

“It certainly is no secret. I can tell you that — obviously I’m sure many of you are aware — there are about 20 folks who are not reoffering. And some of these are some of the most loyal folks you will ever find.”

“The Conservative party takes one group and pits them against another group of Canadians because there might be a few votes to have,” she said. “That’s not leadership.”

Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Adams also cited the Liberal positions on income splitting and abortion, as well as Trudeau’s response to harassment allegations concerning a pair of his MPs as among the reasons for her move.

“How profoundly unfair a Canada do we want to build?” she asked in reference to income splitting.

“For somebody who so tightly controls policy and initiatives and communications — how is it possible that a woman’s right to choose still comes to the floor and is debated?”

For Trudeau, Adams’ defection is a coup not least because she held the role of parliamentary secretary to Health Minister Rona Ambrose. However, accepting Adams comes with some risk. Her nomination battle last year turned bitter and at times a little strange — something Trudeau was unwilling to comment on Monday.

“One of the keys for the Liberal party to win the election is to convince a lot of people who voted for different parties in the last election to vote for this party now,” he said.

Adams’ fiancé Dimitri Soudas, meanwhile, is being talked about as a potential Conservative candidate in his own right, raising the prospect of newlyweds one day sitting across the aisle from each other in the House of Commons.

There has been speculation that the two may have split, however, and both Adams and Trudeau deflected questions about Soudas Monday.

“I can tell you that my entire family is 100 per cent supportive,” Adams said.

Later Monday, Soudas tweeted his support for Adams.

Fully support @MPEveAdams's decision. She is smart, hard working & caring.

The tweet quickly raised questions over whether he too had joined the Liberals. However, Kate Purchase, Trudeau’s director of communications and planning, clarified Soudas won’t have a formal role in the Liberal party.

To clarify: Soudas will not have a formal role in the LPC but he, like her whole family, is supportive of @MPEveAdams's decision and her run

Trudeau and Adams will also have to figure out where the new Liberal will run. The Oakville North-Burlington riding where she sought the Conservative nomination already has a Liberal candidate — City Councillor Max Khan.

Adams appears to have a riding in mind, saying that she’ll be speaking with community members in the days to come. Of the ridings bordering Oakville North-Burlington, however, only two don’t already have a Liberal candidate and each has multiple people contesting the nomination.

Both will be contested by sitting Conservative MPs. Bob Dechert will be seeking re-election in Mississauga-Erin Mills. The riding of Milton, meanwhile, could offer an interesting showdown. Should Adams run there, she’d go face-to-face with Transport Minister Lisa Raitt.

Trudeau made a mistake with her. That’s too bad. She didn’t behave herself for the RoboCons how is she going to behave for the Liberals. You know who she is by the company she keeps … D. Soudas. Bad judgment Justin, bad judgment.

Very bad. This woman is completely untrustworthy and I think is off her rocker. He should have nothing to do with her. What the hell’s going on?! They may be inviting her into the outer circle and letting her take her chances on winning a seat, in order to get as much info as they can, but even being willing to bring her on board is problematic.

Intersting that if it was Harper welcoming a known clown from the Liberals there would be hundreds of comments. JT, well guess there’s not much to talk about. Really? For example I thought Adams was open about her position as pro-life. Am I incorrect here? Is so how could JT bring her over knowing that given he’s dropped the anvil on long standing MP’s?